Little Star in the Sky
by SasuNarufan13
Summary: When he wants his daddy and papa happy again, Menma asks for help from his little brother, who's a bright little star in the sky. Menma's pov; AU; slash; mentioned miscarriage; MPreg; happy ending; more warnings inside


**Author's note: Fair warning, this is something I came up with randomly tonight and I'm still not entirely sure what to think of it. I hope it isn't too bad at least!**

**Warnings: child's pov; alternate universe; established slash; MPreg; mentioned miscarriage at the start; implied A/B/O dynamics (but not explicitly mentioned); time skips; happy ending**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.**

**I hope you'll like it!**

* * *

**Little Star in the Sky**

"When can I see daddy?" he questioned impatiently; the too sterile smell of the hospital working on his nerves. He really didn't like the way this place reeked; his home smelt thousands of times better.

Uncle Itachi smiled strained. "Soon, Menma-kun. We need to wait until the doctor or your papa says we can see him."

Menma frowned and looked down at the floor, absently scuffing his shoe against the spotless, shiny tile. They'd been waiting here for a really long time already – how much longer did they need to wait?

They were at the hospital because daddy had got a really bad tummy ache. Menma hadn't been home when daddy had left to the hospital; he'd been at Uncle Itachi's and Uncle Deidara's place, playing with the new kittens Uncle Deidara had recently got. Papa had called Uncle Itachi and the older man had then told Menma that daddy wasn't feeling well and they needed to go to the hospital.

He didn't really get why, though. He'd had tummy aches before, but he never had to go to the hospital for them. Sometimes he had had to go to the doctor, yes, which he didn't like, but never to the hospital. Was it different for adults?

His head shot up when the door across from them opened and papa stepped outside, looking exhausted and oddly pale in the bright lights of the hallway.

"Papa? Is everything okay with daddy?" Menma asked, squirming out of Uncle Deidara's embrace.

A strange look crossed papa's face and his already dark eyes darkened even further. "Daddy's resting now, but you can come see him."

"Go on, Menma-kun," Uncle Deidara murmured, patting his back. "We'll wait here, un."

That only made the little boy even more confused because why couldn't they just go together to see daddy? But he went over to papa anyway, too impatient to wait any longer. Papa guided him inside with one hand on his shoulder and the sound of the door clicking shut rang loudly through the otherwise quiet room.

Everywhere Menma looked he could only see white: white walls, white ceiling, white floor, white nightstand, white chairs, white bed … The sheer amount of white in this room was overwhelming and it took him a bit to find daddy amongst all this white.

The blond man was lying in the bed, some kind of tube leading from his right hand to a plastic bag hanging on a metal stand next to him. He looked incredibly pale; his usually bright eyes red rimmed and puffy for some reason. His usual nice scent was muffled underneath a whole bunch of chemicals; Menma decided he really didn't like the new scent clinging to daddy, but he liked even less how daddy looked like now.

He looked so small, so pale. So breakable. Daddy wasn't like that.

"Daddy?" he whispered, feeling like being any louder would hurt the older man even more.

Dark blue eyes shifted from the ceiling to him and daddy gave him a watery smile. "Hey, Menma," he said; his voice scratchy like he'd been screaming for a while.

"How's your tummy ache?" Menma asked tentatively, shuffling closer to the bed when papa lightly pushed him towards it.

That made daddy shudder and he looked close to crying all of a sudden, alarming the five year old.

"Daddy?"

Papa knelt down next to him, drawing his attention. "Menma, there's something you need to know," he said slowly. "Your daddy was expecting a baby."

"A baby?" Menma perked up, excitement bubbling up in his stomach. "I'm getting a little brother or a little sister?" he asked hopefully, rocking back and forth on his heels.

He had wanted a sibling for a really long time now, but his parents had told him having a baby took time. He didn't really understand why, though, only that apparently having a baby didn't happen quickly. But now daddy had a baby in his belly, so that meant he'd finally get a brother or a sister!

"Not …" Papa hesitated, looking away for a moment before he turned to face him again. "It's like this: daddy had a baby in his belly, but that baby got sick. Because the baby got sick, daddy got that tummy ache and that's why he had to go to the hospital. The baby was too sick and … the baby is no longer in daddy's tummy now."

"Where's the baby now then?" he asked confused. Was he or she sleeping somewhere in a hospital bed? If he or she was sick that meant the baby had to stay longer in the hospital then, right? To get better?

"The baby went to heaven, Menma," Daddy said quietly; his hand resting limply on his stomach. "He was too sick to stay here, so now he's a little star in the sky."

"I can't see him?" Menma asked disappointed. He hadn't even been able to say goodbye!

"No, you can't, sweetheart," Daddy murmured, reaching out to caress his hair.

"I wanted to say goodbye," he said sadly. He hadn't even known daddy had a baby in his tummy and now it was too late to say goodbye to his little brother; that was so unfair!

"Yeah, me too, baby," Daddy said choked; covering his eyes with his arm.

Suddenly Menma was picked up by papa and lowered down on the bed. It surprised Menma, but he didn't mind. Daddy looked so sad right now; he must miss the baby a lot. Menma missed him too even if he hadn't known about him until now.

Trying to make daddy feel better, he crawled towards him and hugged him tightly. "I bet he's going to be the best star in the whole sky," he said confidently. He might not have known his little brother, but he just knew he was going to be an amazing star. The best there was.

"Yeah, I bet he will be," Daddy murmured and hugged him tightly back.

The hug was a lot tighter than it usually was, bordering on somewhat painful, but Menma didn't say anything and just hugged daddy back, feeling him tremble underneath him.

He wished he could have got to know his little brother before he became too sick, but at least he was now a big star in heaven and he would be able to see him whenever he would look up at night.

He should tell daddy that; he thought it would make him feel a bit better. Not now, though. It didn't feel right to tell him that now.

But later. When daddy wasn't so sad anymore.

* * *

It took a long time before daddy went back to his normal happy self.

For weeks after Menma's little brother went to heaven as a bright little star, daddy was quiet and withdrawn, looking more like a robot than a human as he wandered around the house, cleaning it up after getting back from his work. Menma knew daddy and papa had argued about him going to work so soon. Papa hadn't wanted him to, had wanted daddy to stay home and rest longer, but daddy hadn't wanted that. Said he needed the distraction after losing the baby.

Menma wasn't so sure whether working was really good for daddy, though. He barely said anything when he got back home and whenever he played with him, it was almost mechanically and he never came up with those fun stories anymore that he was so good at when they played with the action figures.

At night, Menma sometimes thought he could hear daddy crying, which had his belly squirming uncomfortably. Daddy didn't cry; he'd never seen him do that, but now every once in a while he would wake up and he would hear his daddy crying and papa trying to soothe him.

Tonight was one of those evenings again and Menma bit down on his lip, before crawling out of his bed and padding over to the window. Pulling the curtain aside a bit, he looked up at the night sky and sought out the star papa had said was his little brother. He started panicking when he couldn't find it immediately, but then he leant slightly forwards and found it again, more to the right this time.

Sighing relieved, he placed his right hand against the window, the coldness of the glass pane seeping into his warm skin, and he whispered, "Hey, little brother. I don't know how much you can do from up there, but if you can, can you do something to make daddy and papa happy again? They're really sad because you got too sick and went to heaven, but I want to see them happy again. Can you do that?"

The star, the one he'd been looking at every night for the past seven months, seemed to twinkle extra brightly for a moment and he nodded, smiling. Yeah, he knew he could count on his little brother. He wasn't here anymore, but as a star in heaven, he could probably do a lot more for daddy and papa than Menma could.

Feeling a bit lighter, he went back to bed, sleep catching up to him once more.

* * *

Daddy didn't immediately go back to his normal self overnight, but Menma started to notice little differences with each day that passed after he'd asked his little brother for help.

Daddy decided to take a couple of weeks off work and papa did the same. Both men home now, they took Menma with them to visit family: some days they visited Uncle Itachi and Uncle Deidara, other days grandmother and grandfather and then other days still they visited grandma and grandpa. The latter lived in the country, nearby a forest and whenever they visited them, they went picnicking in the woods or grandpa took them out to ride on the horses he took care of.

When they didn't visit family, they went to the beach or even an amusement park a couple of times. Normally Menma would have to go to school, but papa had talked with his teacher and she'd given the okay for Menma to stay home for three weeks. It was like an impromptu mini holiday and Menma enjoyed every second of it.

Especially because daddy and papa seemed to be feeling better with every family visit they made, with every outing they took. After the first week and a half, daddy laughed about a joke Uncle Deidara had made and that made Menma so happy! He'd missed daddy's laugh very much and he hoped that this meant daddy was slowly getting better. Papa was also looking better and better with each day that went by, smiling easier now, looking less pale too, less worried.

The last weekend of his mini holiday, Menma spent at grandmother and grandfather's house, because papa had wanted to spend some time alone with daddy. Papa had asked him whether he'd mind spending the weekend with his grandparents, but he didn't. If this weekend would make papa and daddy feel better, Menma was all too happy to have a sleepover at his grandparents' place. Besides, grandmother made really good pancakes, so that was also a bonus!

"Do you think daddy and papa are going to feel better after spending time together?" he asked grandmother on Saturday when she was preparing a second pancake for him.

She turned around and abandoned the pancake in favour of coming over to him and kissing his forehead. "I'm sure they will, honey. Sometimes daddies and papas just need to spend some time together."

"Yeah, papa said he and daddy needed that," he said, nodding. He didn't really understand why, but he supposed that was because it was some kind of adult stuff. Either way as long as his parents would be happier after this weekend, he didn't mind spending some time away from them.

They'd been sad for too long. He wanted to see them happy again.

"Sometimes they do, yes," Grandmother smiled and went back to the pan. "You want some chocolate and raspberry sauce on this one, hon?"

"Yes, please!"

* * *

Their time together really did seem to have helped. When daddy and papa came to pick him up on Sunday evening, they both looked lighter than they had in months and daddy was actually smiling now, pulling him in for a hug and a kiss, asking him what he'd done during his weekend.

Even better, when daddy tucked him into his bed, he came up with a whole new story about a princess fighting bravely to save her little brother from a very evil man! He hadn't done that in months, instead picking a book every time to read to him and while Menma had liked listening to the stories in the books, daddy's stories were still the best.

Daddy coming up with his own stories again had to mean he was starting to feel better, yeah? He was happy about that.

Daddy and papa had been sad for far too long now. They deserved to be happy again.

* * *

Life returned to normal after those three weeks. Papa and daddy went back to work, but daddy no longer walked around like he was a robot. He hummed again when he did chores and his eyes shone and sparkled again; his laughter and smiles a lot more frequent now than tears.

He came up with all kinds of stories when playing with Menma again and he started pulling pranks on Uncle Itachi and Uncle Gaara once more; something he hadn't done in a while. It was nice hearing him laugh again after months of seeing him so sad and Menma couldn't stop grinning every time daddy teased papa about something before he had to run away shrieking when papa started chasing to punish him.

Everything was back to how it should be and that made Menma very happy.

"Thank you, little brother," he whispered to the sky that night. "I'm happy you helped make daddy and papa happy again."

Because he knew for sure his little brother had helped. He'd asked him for help and his little brother had responded, just like he knew he would.

* * *

"You're done playing in the snow, Menma?" Daddy asked when he trudged into the kitchen, shivering.

He was wrapped in a thick jacket, a long scarf, a cap pulled down over his ears and thick mittens covering his hands but even with all the layers, the cold had eventually won and had driven him back inside. Not before finishing his snowman, though, one he was very proud of, because it was the largest one he'd built until now!

"Y-y-yeah," he replied, teeth chattering from the cold, and he jumped up and down, trying to get some feeling back in his poor, cold feet.

Papa clucked his tongue and shook his head, pulling him closer to the heater. "Come here, you look like a snowman," he sighed and started pulling off his cap and scarf.

"I built a large snowman outside," he told him proudly and papa chuckled.

"I'm sure you did. Daddy and I will go look at it in a bit. Let's get you warmed up first before your toes freeze off."

He gasped and hurried to get his mittens and jacket off so he could get warmer quickly. He didn't want his toes frozen off!

Papa helped him get out of his boots right when daddy handed him a mug with hot chocolate milk and whipped cream.

"Here, that'll get you to warm up quicker," Daddy smiled, gathering his wet clothes and bringing them to the washing room.

Menma sighed and smacked his lips after drinking half of his chocolate milk at once. It tasted so delicious after spending so much time in the snow!

"Hey Menma, your papa and I need to tell you something," Daddy said when he walked back into the kitchen. He smiled at papa who'd prepared hot chocolate for the both of them and accepted the mug.

"Oh?" Menma looked up curiously. "What?"

Daddy's eyes glittered just as brightly as his blond hair did in the light when he sat down and said, "You're going to be a big brother soon, Menma. I'm expecting a baby."

"Talk about being blunt," Papa muttered and rolled his eyes, but Menma could only gape at daddy.

"There's a baby in your tummy again?!" he squeaked shocked; his eyes shooting down to daddy's belly, hidden behind his dark brown sweater. There was another baby in there right now?

"Yeah, there is," Daddy grinned, patting his stomach gently.

"How long?"

"Four months already, so you'll be a big brother in a little more than five months from now," Papa told him; a smile of his own playing around his mouth as he came to stand behind daddy, resting a hand on his shoulder.

Menma clapped his hands, beyond excited at the thought of becoming a big brother, but then deflated again when he remembered what had happened to the other baby. "This baby won't get sick like my little brother?" he asked cautiously. He liked having a star as his little brother, but that didn't mean he wanted another sibling to go to heaven so soon.

Daddy's face softened and he gently plucked the half empty mug out of Menma's hands before leaning forwards to pull him on his lap. "No, baby, this one won't get sick. Last time your little brother got sick after two months, but this baby is already four months old and that means he or she is safe now."

"I'm really getting a little brother or little sister?" Menma asked awed, daring to feel excited again. He didn't understand why a difference of two months meant this baby wouldn't get sick, but he didn't care. As long as this baby stayed healthy, nothing else mattered.

"Yes, Menma, you're getting a little brother or a little sister," Papa murmured, stroking his black hair back.

"I'm going to be a big brother!" Menma squealed and hugged daddy around his neck firmly, before slithering off his lap and pressing his ear against daddy's belly. It felt rounder than it had before he noticed, no longer as flat as he remembered it being a while ago.

"When can I feel the baby move?" he demanded, placing his hand against the side of daddy's tummy. His teacher was expecting a baby as well, but her baby was already older than daddy's, and she had let the class feel her tummy when the baby had been kicking.

"In a couple of weeks probably," Daddy replied, smiling. "As soon as the baby starts moving enough for you to feel it, I'll come get you, okay?"

"Even when it's night! I don't want to miss that!" Menma insisted, looking up at daddy.

His bright blue eyes gleamed amused. "Okay, even when it's night, I'll come wake you up," he promised and Menma smiled pleased.

He couldn't wait to feel his little brother or sister kick! And he definitely couldn't wait until he or she was out of daddy's tummy. This was going to be amazing, he just knew it!

* * *

That evening he scrambled onto his desk so he could be closer to the window and looked up at the sky, instantly picking out the bright star above him.

"I don't know if you did this, but thank you, little brother. I promise I'll take care of our little brother or sister really well," he whispered, staring up at the little star.

The little star twinkled brightly and he grinned.

With his little brother looking after them from his place in heaven, Menma knew everything was going to be all right.

Because, after all, his little brother was the best star in the whole sky!

**The End**

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**AN2: Nothing really too long or too complicated; as I mentioned, it was something rather randomly I came up with this evening.**

**Despite the perhaps weird randomness and angst at the start, I do hope you liked it.**

**Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.**

**I hope to see you all back in my future stories!**

**Cuddles**

**Melissa**

**P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.**


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